The U.S. unemployment rate reached 6.1 percent last month, a five-year high as companies slashed 84,000 jobs. The Labor Department reported on a number of hard-hit sectors, including housing, the auto industry and retail, but technology more than held its own. "Overall technology employment is up in America and the wages associated with it are up," said John McCarthy, a vice president with Forrester Research.

The Labor Department said payrolls of computer and electronics manufacturers grew 5.1 percent from July to August. There also was a 6.3 percent increase in the work force of computer-systems designers and related services providers. Software vendors, whose products can help other companies automate processes and save money in downturns, also held up well.

Yet some companies are being cautious in hiring, and others have been feeling the economic squeeze and cutting back this year. They include chip manufacturing equipment maker Applied Materials Inc., phone maker Motorola Inc., and Yahoo.

For more on the economy:
- see this CIO Today article